System and Method for Trading Based on Tournament-Style Events

ABSTRACT

A system for trading a plurality of derivative financial instruments comprises a processor operable to receive a first order to buy a derivative financial instrument that represents a contestant in a contest. The processor is further operable to receive a second order to sell the derivative financial instrument. The processor is further operable to determine a market price based at least in part on the first order and the second order. The processor is further operable to execute a trade at the determined market price. The system further comprises a memory operable to store the first order and/or the second order.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.09/184,571, filed Nov. 2, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,174, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/620,906, filed onMar. 25, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,176.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to computer-implemented financialsystems, and in particular to an improved automated securities tradingsystem.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer-implemented securities trading systems are well known in theart. One such system is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,044,issued to Kalmus et al., entitled “Automated Securities Trading System”,and incorporated by reference herein. These computer-implementedsecurities trading systems obtain bid and asked trades based on the bidand asked prices. However, there is generally still a human component tosuch systems.

For example, most financial markets also employ one or more marketmakers called “specialists.” These specialists fill customer orders fromthe specialist's inventory position if there are no matches for thecustomer orders in the open market.

In the prior art, the specialist function is not automated, but isperformed by a firm or individual. Thus there is a need in the art foran improved computer-implemented trading system that includes anautomated specialist function to create a market for the securitiestraded and to lessen the volatility of smaller securities markets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to solve the problemswith existing systems described above.

Another object of the present invention is to lessen the pricevolatility of derivative financial instruments traded in narrowermarkets.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an on-line virtualtrading system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtualspecialist program that engages in trading in the market to offset theprice volatility and to provide liquidity to the market.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a securityinstrument pricing system which depends from buy-sell trade imbalances.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a securityinstrument price control system which controls volatility of a security.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a securityinstrument trade halting system to prevent extreme price volatility fora security instrument.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ghost trader fora security in order to generate trading activity so that adjusted marketcontrol factors take effect.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtual reservebank program to control money market interest rates and globalvolatility for the virtual market.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an on-line marketresearch tool which researchers can access to obtain statisticalinformation based on trading behavior.

To overcome the limitations in the prior art, and to overcome otherlimitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding thepresent specification, the present invention discloses a system fortrading a plurality of derivative financial instruments. The systemcomprises a processor operable to receive a first order to buy aderivative financial instrument that represents a contestant in acontest. The processor is further operable to receive a second order tosell the derivative financial instrument. The processor is furtheroperable to determine a market price based at least in part on the firstorder and the second order. The processor is further operable to executea trade at the determined market price. The system further comprises amemory operable to store the first order and/or the second order.

In one embodiment, a database of securities is provided for trading inan open, computerized, exchange. In one embodiment, securities arelisted which relate to movies, actors, products or service companies. Inanother embodiment, securities are listed which relate to contestants incontests such as, for example, tournaments, playoffs, game shows,reality-based television shows, award shows, sporting events, and/or anysuitable competition.

Users may access the system over a network, using a standard interface.An exemplary system comprises a Web server with an SQL compliantback-end database, with a standardized Web browser interface. Using theWeb browser, the user may register for the on-line trading system over anetwork, providing demographic information, such as age, sex, location,occupation, income, hobby interest, and the like. Once registered, theuser is given the option of choosing a unique userID which will be usedfor logging in after registration. In providing the demographicinformation, the user also provides an e-mail address to which arandomly assigned password and other instructional information can beforwarded.

Once the user has received a password, the user may freely log in andout of the system over the Web by selecting a start button present on aWeb home page for the system. However, while the password is beingforwarded to the new user, the new user is given temporary access to thesystem so that trading can begin instantaneously.

Automatically, the user is provided with a fixed quantity of virtualcurrency in virtual dollars (V$) from a reserve bank program, describedbelow, to begin trading with. This quantity can either be considered aloan from the reserve bank program, for which interest is charged, or agift.

After logging in, the user's portfolio summary page is displayed whichdisplays the user's current cash balance, amount held in stocks, bonds,and other types of securities. When the new user logs in, the cash valueof the user's portfolio is represented solely in cash, or in a moneymarket account. The cash in the user's portfolio accrues at an interestrate set by a virtual reserve bank program.

The user may trade security instruments by typing in the symbol for theinstrument for which a purchase is desired in a buy-sell area of thepage. A quantity is also specified in the buy sell area. If the userdoes not know the symbol for a particular instrument, a lookup or searchfunction is provided in another area of the screen using standardgraphical user interface (GUI) features such as drop-down list boxes,text search boxes, or slider bar lists. Alternatively, a ticker tapestyle updating menu at the bottom of the screen displays availableinstruments with the corresponding instrument prices.

Once the user has successfully entered the symbol for an availableinstrument, a buy button may be pressed in the buy-sell area of thepage. If the user has enough cash on account, and if the instrument isavailable for trading, then a confirmation screen appears beforeexecution of the trans-action. Upon confirmation, the trade is executed,and the cash is debited from the user's account.

If the user wishes to sell a security instrument, the same procedure isfollowed, except, a sell button is clicked on in the buy-sell area ofthe Web page. After confirmation, the market price for the shares soldis added to the user's account, and the shares are made available in thesystem for fulfilling purchase orders.

The system includes a virtual specialist program which, among otherthings, handles fulfillment of buy and sell orders. In the embodiment ofthe present system, the virtual specialist program controls the economy,and provides it with liquidity. In one embodiment, the virtualspecialist program provides instantaneous liquidity by fulfilling allorders, whether or not there are equal and matching sell orders tooffset buy orders, and vice versa. The system keeps a running netmovement balance for the quantity of buy or sell trades which thevirtual specialist program had to fulfill without offsetting sell or buytrades. The imbalance is stored as a positive number if the buy-sellimbalance represents more buy trade orders executed than sell orders, ora negative number if the buy-sell imbalance represents more sell ordersexecuted than buy orders.

Unlike the case with non-virtual markets, the virtual specialist programof the embodiment does not control the economy by setting prices ofshares based on last executed buy order price offered. Rather, thevirtual specialist pro-gram determines the price of an instrument aftereach trade by computing and effecting an outstanding buy-sell imbalance.

The buy-sell imbalance, also referred to herein as the net movementbalance (NMB), controls security prices by incrementing or decrementingsecurity prices using a combination of a security price increment (SPI)constant, and a pair of security price threshold constants. Both apositive security price threshold (PSPT) constant, and a negativesecurity price threshold (NSPT) constant is set in a security constanttable 2002 for each security in the system. A net trade movement (NTM)variable for a trade order is set to the positive quantity of shares inthe trade order if the trade order is a buy, and to the negativequantity of shares in the trade order if the trade order is a sell. Anew NMB is calculated by adding the NMB before the trade, retrieved froma net price movement table 2008 (NMB (old)), to the NTM.

A security price increment (SPI) constant for the security which is thesubject of the trade order is retrieved from the security constant table2002. The NMB is then compared to the PSPT. If the NMB is greater thanthe PSPT, then the price for the security (SP) is calculated by addingthe SPI to the SP before the trade which was retrieved from a securityprice table 2006. The NMB is then reduced by the PSPT and stored back tothe net price movement table.

Conversely, if the NMB is less-than the NSPT (a negative value) then theSP (new) is calculated by subtracting the SPI from the SP (old). The NMBis then incremented by the NSPT.

After the above calculations are made, the SP is stored in a securityprice table 2006, which keeps track of all security prices. The NMB isupdated in the net movement balance database. Each record of the netmovement balance database further contains an increment tracking fieldfor keeping track of the number of consecutive increments for thesecurity instrument, up or down. Also, a price history tracking table2010 is updated after each trade, performing a write SQL statement whichadds a record comprising the SP, NMB, userlD, and other informationrelating to the trade. This information is used by a marketing tool,explained below, which provides statistical information to marketresearchers.

Periodically, due to natural popularity of a particular security, or bymarket manipulation by an individual or groups of traders, the securitywill realize wild fluctuations in price. This is especially true in amarket in which virtual currency is used in a virtual market. Given thespecial circumstances of the virtual market, the system provides anartificial price control, or braking, mechanism.

The braking mechanism of the present invention monitors each priceincrement the virtual specialist performs. When a price moves up or downon a security instrument, the increment tracking field of the netmovement balance table 2012 is retrieved for the security. A securitybrake threshold (SBT) constant, and a security brake increment (SBI)constant is retrieved from the security constant table 2002. If thetotal consecutive number of price increments (TCPI) is greater than theSBT, then the PSPT is increased by the security brake increment, andthen stored back to the security constant table 2002. If the totalconsecutive number of price decrements (a negative value) is less thanthe SBT, the NSPT is decreased by the security brake increment, and thenstored back to the security constant table 2002. In this way, forsecurities which have experienced price movement greater than the setthresholds, the price movement will be slowed.

Still, the braking mechanism may not be effective enough in either anextreme-bear-or bull market for the security, or the market as a whole.In those instances, a halting mechanism is provided by the system. Thehalting mechanism acts much in the same way as the braking mechanism.The exception is that a security halt threshold (SHT) constant iscompared to the TCPUTCPD field. If the absolute value of the TCPI/TCPDfield value exceeds the SBT, trading is halted for that particularsecurity. A notice appears on screen for a trader who tries to trade thesecurity, informing the user that trading has been halted by the system.Trading for the security may be resumed after an administratively setperiod of time, or manually through an administration module.

The virtual economy may have a finite amount of capital with which toclose arbitrage situations that might arise if the policy of theexchange is different than what is reflected by the prices on themarket. The virtual economy is unlike so non-virtual economies, whichmay have an infinite amount of capital. A system administrator isprovided a separate control screen where changes to global constants,such as the PSPT, NSPT, SBT, SBI, etc., can be adjusted to affect themarket. In effect, the password protected control screen serves as avolatility control module. The volatility control, or ghost trade,module is used to implement and enhance monetary regulations, and themarket as a whole. The desired effect is implemented by causing thesystem to issue buy and sell programs which comprise coordinated, acrossthe board, buying and selling timer intervals. A timer periodicallyqueries the ghost trading table 2014. Each security instrument record inthe ghost trading table 2014 is set to cause a trade for anadministratively set number of times per trading day. If the timerdetects that the time interval between trades for a security has ended,the ghost trading mechanism retrieves a ghost buy probability (GBT) fromthe ghost trade table 2014. A random trade constant (RTC) is generatedby the system. Next, a ghost security buy/sell quantity (GBQ) isretrieved from the ghost trade table 2014. If the GBT is greater than orequal to the RTC, a buy order is placed by the system for the number ofshares specified by the GBQ. Otherwise, a sell order is placed for thenumber of shares specified by the GBQ.

The system of the present invention includes a virtual reserve bankprogram. The reserve bank program regulates the economy with monetarytools which are provided within the reserve bank program module. Withthese tools, certain system global constants, such as total money supplyand interest rates can be adjusted.

In the case of interest rates, adjustable global constants are builtinto the administration table 2016 for the virtual trading system. Byraising or lowering rates, the amount of interest paid on the virtualdollars not tied up in securities is adjusted for the users. In thisway, the unused money in users' accounts act as a money market accountsfor which interest is adjusted accordingly.

Alternatively, a virtual reserve bank program chairman can determineinterest rate and security threshold constants by using global interestthreshold constants (GITCs) which monitor inflationary and deflationarypressures in the system. Inflationary and deflationary pressure may bedefined as the size of the system economy, i.e., number of shares ofsecurities which obtain a certain defined price. For example, the totaloutstanding shares may have a combined par value of VS8 billion, and thetotal market price for the shares outstanding may be V$80 billion withabout V$5 billion average daily trading volume. The virtual specialistprogram, for the majority of securities in the system, may have setprice movement thresholds to 10,000 positive and 10,000 negative. Themoney market rate may be set to 70% under these market conditions by thereserve bank program. However, if prices on the exchange were to inflateto a value of V$200 billion, for example, price movement thresholdsmight be reset to 20,000 and 20,000 positive and negative respectively,and the money market interest rate reset to 15%.

Considering the vast cross-section of on-line users, comprisingdifferent interests, artistic tastes and economic buying powers, thesystem of the present invention further provides extremely usefulinformation for entities such as market research firms, advertisingagencies, investors, movie and television studios, phonorecordcompanies, radio stations and movie rental companies. Accordingly, forselect market research users, an on-line market research tool isprovided which allows the market research users to access statisticalinformation about trader demographics, interests, beliefs, and/ortastes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and forfurther features and advantages, reference is now made to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary hardware environment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the general logic of a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the logic of the pricing/tradingprogram of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the logic of the generate marketprice program of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of the virtualspecialist program of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of the stop tradingprogram of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary administration module Screen for a secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A shows an exemplary interface for the second embodiment of thepresent invention with a new user registration screen;

FIG. 8B shows the interface screen of FIG. 8A with a new user welcomescreen displayed;

FIG. 9 shows the interface screen of FIG. 8A with a system home pagedisplayed;

FIG. 10 shows the interface screen of FIG. 8A with a user portfolio pagedisplayed;

FIG. 11 shows the interface screen of FIG. 8A with a trade confirmationscreen displayed;

FIG. 12a is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of an initial securitypricing program for the second embodiment of the 20 system;

FIG. 12b illustrates a flowchart for a trading system based on contestsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of a security tradefulfillment and security price setting program of the second embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of a trade brakingprogram of the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of a trade haltingprogram of the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of a ghost tradingprogram of the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of a research markettool of the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 18 shows an administration module which is used to adjust constantsand variables in the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Overview Of Virtual Trading System

The present invention comprises a computer-implemented trading systemfor derivative financial instruments (“derivatives”). The presentinvention accepts buy and sell orders from traders for the derivativefinancial instruments, sets a market price based on the supply anddemand, and participates in the market as a trader in order to minimizeprice volatility. In some embodiments, the present invention is acomputer-implemented exchange for derivative financial instrumentsrepresenting movies, talent, CDs, and television programs. In otherembodiments, the present invention is a computer implemented exchangefor derivative financial instruments representing contestants intournaments, playoffs, game shows, reality-based television shows, awardshows, sporting events, any/or any suitable contest.

The computer-implemented exchange (“the exchange”) may be implemented asa simulation (i.e., game) or as an actual trading system for thederivative financial instruments described above. The derivativefinancial instruments may be purchased with dollars, with virtualcurrency that is controlled by a virtual reserve bank program, or withany suitable real or artificial currency.

The derivative financial instruments are identified by a Current TradingList displayed for the traders. In some embodiments, the Current TradingList comprises a list of movies in various stages of production, talent,and other entertainment-oriented assets. In other embodiments, theCurrent Trading List comprises a list of contestants in tournaments,playoffs, game shows, reality-based television shows, award shows,sporting events, any/or any suitable contest. The list may comprise:

-   -   name of the derivative financial instrument;    -   number of shares in circulation;    -   last trading price (printed every 15 minutes);    -   price movement since the previous midnight (PST);    -   price movement since the previous mid-day; and    -   price movement year to date.

In an exchange that relates to derivatives based on movies and/oractors, the Current Trading List may further comprise the genre of themovie (action-adventure, mystery, western, comedy, etc.) and theproduction status of the movie (scripting, pre-production, filming,editing, release, home-video, etc.).

Traders may be able to view the Current Trading List sorted by:

-   -   name, alphabetically;    -   genre, alphabetically;    -   productions status, alphabetically;    -   most active (number of shares traded yesterday);    -   biggest gainers;    -   biggest losers; and    -   fastest movers today (e.g., fastest 20 movers up and fastest 20        movers down).

Similar information may be provided for other derivative financialinstruments offered on the exchange.

Each trader's portfolio is identified by a Portfolio data structure thatcomprises the trader's account status. This information includes:

-   -   the amount of cash in the trader's account (paid interest at the        system discount rate plus some increment, compounded daily);    -   current percentage rate paid to cash;    -   the total value of held stocks at the last selling price;    -   the total value of held bonds at the last selling price;    -   total portfolio value (TPV) (cash+bonds+stocks);    -   percentage of TPV in cash;    -   percentage of TPV in bonds; and    -   percentage of TPV in stocks.        Traders can generate any number of different reports for        display, including:    -   lists of stocks and bonds being traded (see above);    -   index of total stocks (INDEX_STOCKS) expressed as a number, with        1000 defined as the aggregate total stock price value on opening        day, wherein INDEX_STOCKS=(today's gross stock-value)/(opening        day gross stock-value);    -   index of total bonds (INDEX_BONDS) expressed as a number, with        1000 defined as the aggregate total bond price value on opening        day, wherein INDEX_BONDS=((today's gross bond-value)/(opening        day gross bond-value));    -   index of total exchange (INDEX_EXCHANGE) comprised of all stocks        and bonds, and expressed as a number, with 1000 as the aggregate        total stock price value on opening, wherein        INDEX_EXCHANGE=((today's gross market-value)/(opening day gross        market-value));    -   lists of the top market performers, e.g., the top 10 traders in        percentage portfolio growth calculated as net port-folio        value-change=(% change of cash)+(% change of stocks)+(% change        of bonds), and for each of the categories: yesterday (midnight        to midnight), last week (7 days, ending midnight, each        Thursday), last month (closes at midnight last calendar day of        month), last quarter (closes at midnight on last day of last        month/quarter), year-to-date (running daily total of percentage        value changes)/(days year-to-date), and annually (closes at        midnight on December 31 each year);    -   overall market condition report, including a list of stopped        issues with:    -   name;    -   last trading price;    -   time that stop-trade condition occurred;    -   percentage the issue actually moved on-the-day before the        stop-trade;    -   number of total shares and/or bonds traded today;    -   dollar value of total trades today;    -   number of buy and sell trades today; and    -   number of buy and sell trades this month.

Use of the above information will guide traders in making future buy andsell orders.

Hardware Environment

With reference to FIG. 1, a block diagram illustrates an exemplaryhardware environment for the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention. More particularly, a typical distributed computer system isillustrated, which uses the Internet 10 to connect client computers 12executing for example, Web browsers, to server computers 14 executing acomputer program embodying the present invention. A typical combinationof resources may include client computers 12 that are personal computersor work stations connected via the Internet 10 to server computers 14that are personal computers, work stations, minicomputers, ormain-frames.

Generally, both the client computers 12 and the server computers 14 arecomprised of one or more CPUs 16, various amounts of RAM storingcomputer programs 20 and other data, and other components typicallyfound in computers. In addition, both the client computers 12 and theserver computers 14 may include one or more monitors, and fixed orremovable data storage devices 20 such as hard disk drives, floppy diskdrives, and/or CD-ROM drives. Also, input devices, such as mousepointing devices and keyboards, may be included.

Both the client computers 12 and the server computers 14 operate underthe control of an operating system, such as Windows, Macintosh, UNIX,etc. Further, both the client computers 12 and the server computers 14each execute one or more computer programs 18 under the control of theirrespective operating systems. The present invention is preferablyimplemented as one or more computer programs 18 executed by the servercomputer 14, although in alternative embodiments these computer programs18 may also be executed on the client computer 12.

Generally, the computer programs 18 implementing the present inventionare tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, e.g., one or moreof the fixed and/or removable data storage devices 20 attached to thecomputer. Under control of the operating system, the computer pro-grams18 may be loaded from the data storage devices 20 into the RAM of thecomputer for subsequent execution by the CPU 16. The computer programs18 comprise instructions which, when read and executed by the computer,causes the computer to perform the steps necessary to execute the stepsor elements of the present invention.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the exemplary environmentillustrated in FIG. 1 is not intended to limit the present invention.Indeed, those skilled in the art will recognize that other alternativehardware environments may be used without departing from the scope ofthe present invention.

I. General Logic of a First Embodiment of the Trading System

With reference to FIG. 2, a flowchart illustrating the general logic ofa first embodiment of the present invention is shown.

Block 200 represents the server computer 14 waiting for the next eventto occur. Once the event occurs, control is transferred to blocks202-224 to identify the event and respond accordingly.

Block 202 is a decision block that represents the server computer 14determining whether it received a request to display data from theclient computer 12. If so, block 204 represents the server computer 14transmitting data to the client computer 12 for subsequent display. Thedata transmitted for display preferably includes at least three types ofdata: the current list of trading derivative financial instruments, thetrader's portfolio, and other reports generated by the server computer14.

Block 206 is a decision block that represents the server computer 14determining whether it received a request to submit a buy order from theclient computer 12 for a particular derivative financial instrument,e.g., stock or bond. If so, block 208 represents the server computer 14processing the buy order by placing it in a queue in the memory of theserver computer 14. The buy order is a data structure comprising:

-   -   trader's account number;    -   trader's name;    -   the time and date of the order;    -   the stock or bond to buy;    -   the cash balance in the trader's account; and    -   a text-field where the trader may enter the total number to buy        (generally in multiples of 100).

In a first preferred embodiment, the buy order waits in the queue forthe expiration of a predetermined “sweep pricing cycle ” The sweeppricing cycle occurs periodically, such as every 15 minutes, or duringanother specified time interval. The marked price the trader actuallypays for the derivative financial instrument is determined by theaggregate supply/demand for the derivative financial instrument at theend of the sweep pricing cycle during which the order was placed.

The market price is set by the pricing/trading program executed by theserver computer, which is described below in FIG. 3. The trader'saccount is then charged the market price for the derivative financialinstrument. If the purchase uses up all available cash in the trader'saccount, the trader is “loaned” enough money to pay for the purchase,and their account is charged interest at a predetermined rate, e.g., 18%a year compounded daily, on the negative account balance. The interestis charged against the trader's account until they accumulate more cashto zero out the balance, either by selling stocks or buying dollars.

Block 210 is a decision block that represents the server computer 14determining whether it received a request to submit a sell order fromthe client computer 12. If so, block 212 represents the server computer14 processing the sell order by placing it in queue in the memory of theserver computer 14. The sell order is a data structure comprising:

-   -   trader's account number;    -   trader's name;    -   the time and date of the order;    -   the stock or bond to sell;    -   the amount of the stock or bond in the trader's account; and    -   a text-field where the trader may enter the total number to sell        (generally in multiples of 100).

In the first preferred embodiment, like the buy order, the sell orderwaits in the queue for the expiration of the predetermined sweep pricingcycle. The market price at which the trader actually sells thederivative financial instrument is determined by the aggregatesupply/demand for the derivative financial instrument at the end of thesweep pricing cycle during which the order was placed. The market priceis set by the pricing/trading program executed by the server computer,which is described below in FIG. 3. The trader's account is thencredited with the market price for the derivative financial instrument.

The sell order can be either produced by a trader or generated by theserver computer 14, as will be explained in more detail below. For asell order produced by a trader, the trader views a list of stocks orbonds owned by the trader on a monitor attached to the client computerand chooses to sell a quantity at the market price.

When the trader requests to view the list of stocks, the server computer14 transmits certain information to the client computer 12 for display,including, for each stock owned, the last trading price (LTP), thequantity of stocks, the purchase price, and the date purchased,Similarly, when viewing the list of bonds, the server computer 14transmits certain information to the client computer 12 for display,including, for each bond owned, the last trading price (LTP), theinterest rate being earned for each kind of bond, the quantity of bonds,the purchase price, and the date purchased.

Block 214 is a decision block that represents the server computer 14determining whether an internal timer for the sweep pricing cycle hasexpired. If so, block 216 represents the server computer 14 processingthe timer executing a pricing/trading program as described in FIG. 3.

Block 218 is a decision block that represents the server computer 14determining whether it received a request to change the discount rate.If so, block 220 represents the server computer 14 executing a discountrate program. In order to add or subtract liquidity, the server computer14 occasionally steps in to act as a virtual reserve bank program andadjust the discount rate. The discount rate may be adjusted based on anysuitable data, such as, for example, the performance of a particularindustry, the television ratings of a particular show, ticket sales,revenue, or any other suitable information. The discount rate may beadjusted to add or subtract liquidity to affect the growth of aparticular market and/or industry. When the server computer 14 lowersthe discount, all the bonds seem to be a better deal, because the bondsare paying a fixed rate interest that never changes. In the firstpreferred embodiment, this encourages traders to buy more bonds, andthis surge in buying demand causes a correlated increase in bond pricesas described above. The same thing happens to stocks, because tradersare making less money on the interest being paid on the cash balance intheir trading account. When the server computer 14 raises the discount,so the bonds seem to be a worse deal, since their advantage over thediscount is smaller. Thus, the server computer 14 relaxes the buyingpressures or demands for bonds, which should result in additional sellorders, or at least slow the buying of bonds, thus decreasing theirprices as they trade in the market. Likewise, stocks seem lessattractive, since traders could make more money by keeping cash in theiraccounts and getting interest on it.

Block 222 is a decision block that represents the server computer 14determining whether it received a request to revise the derivative list.If so, block 224 represents the server computer 14 executing a listingprogram. The server computer 14 determines whether the list ofderivatives trading in the system should be revised. The list could berevised to reflect new derivative offerings, expired derivatives, anddelisted derivatives.

The initial price of a particular derivative may be based on the movie,actor, athlete, team, awards nominee, contestant, and/or entityrepresented by the particular derivative. For example, the initial pricefor a derivative representing a movie may be based on estimates of themovie's potential box office revenue. As another example, the initialprice for a derivative representing a movie may be based on subjectivecriteria such as, for example, the reputation of the director, whetherthe movie is produced by a major or minor studio, the popularity of anactor in the movie, and/or any other suitable criteria. The initialprice for a derivative representing a contestant in a sports tournament(e.g., basketball team in playoffs) may be based on that contestant'sseeding in the tournament, current ranking, win-loss record, and/or anysuitable number and combination of objective and/or subjective criteria.The initial price for a derivative based on an awards nominee may bebased on prior awards, achievements, or honors earned by the nominee.For derivatives based on contestants in a reality-based television show,the exchange may set the initial prices associated with the contestantsto be equal. In other embodiments, the exchange may set the initialprice of a particular derivative based on the achievements, skills,and/or popularity of the contestant represented by that derivative. Fora bond representing talent on the exchange, the price of the bond may bebased on the Hollywood Reporter's Star Power Index. A bond representinga talent with a low Star Power Index of 15 would be issued with a higheryield than a bond representing a talent with a high Star Power Indexrating. It will be understood that the exchange may use any suitablenumber and combination of data and/or criteria to set prices for thederivative financial instruments.

In some embodiments, the exchange may automatically determine theinitial price of a particular derivative. In other embodiments, one ormore individuals (such as, for example, a panel of experts) may use anysuitable objective and/or subjective criteria to determine the initialprice of a particular derivative.

In some embodiments, a warrant with a strike price may be attached tothe new derivative when it is offered. When the derivative and warrantare first issued, the warrant may be of no value until the strike priceis reached. For example, for a stock based on a movie, the strike pricemay be reached after the movie grosses a certain level of revenue. Whena derivative is delisted from the exchange, a stock due to the movieending its production run or a talent due to retirement or death, forexample, the warrants may be called and the traders may be paid thevalue of the warrants, thus providing off-balance sheet financing forstudios.

Pricing/Trading Program

With reference to FIG. 3, a flowchart illustrating the logic of thepricing/trading program of the present invention is shown. Block 300represents the server computer 14 retrieving the buy and sell ordersthat have accumulated in the queue during the period since the priorsweep pricing cycle. Block 302 represents the server computer 14matching the buy orders with the sell orders, although it is likely thanan identical number of buy and sell orders would not have accumulated inthe queue during the period. Block 304 represents the server computer 14executing the generate market price program described in FIG. 4 todetermine the market price for the derivative financial instruments.After the market price is determined, block 306 represents the servercomputer 14 updating the traders' portfolios to reflect the buy and sellorders in the queue being processed at the market price. Block 308represents the end of the pricing/trading program.

Generate Market Price Program

With reference to FIG. 4 a flowchart illustrating the logic of thegenerate market price program of the present invention is shown. Onepurpose of the generate market price logic is to generate a market pricefor a derivative financial instrument that reflects the demand or lackof demand for the derivative financial instrument in the market. Block400 represents the server computer 14 measuring the imbalance betweenthe buy and sell orders during the period since the prior sweep pricingcycle. Block 402 represents the server computer 14 determining the pricemovement of a derivative financial instrument caused by the imbalance inbuy and sell orders. Block 404 represents the server computer 14executing a virtual specialist program as described in FIG. 5 to providestability and liquidity to the market. Block 406 represents the servercomputer 14 executing the stop trade program, as described in FIG. 6, tostop trading in a derivative financial instrument if the projected pricemovement is excessive during the trading day and threatens the integrityof the market for that instrument. Block 408 represents the servercomputer 14 setting the market price, which becomes the price thepricing/trading program uses to update the traders' portfolios. Block410 represents the end of the generate market price program.

In measuring the imbalance between buy and sell orders, as representedby block 400, the absolute difference between the number of sells andthe number of buys is defined as the net movement in sweep (NMS). Asweep increment variable (SW) is defined as the increase or decrease inprice caused by an incremental imbalance in the number of buy orders andsell orders. A lot movement variable (LMV) represents the incrementallot size that will result in a price increase or decrease of one SIV.The projected price movement (PM) can be expressed as: PM=(NMS/LMV)*SIV.

For example, with 42,000 buy orders and 30,000 sell orders for aparticular stock, the NMS=(42,000−30,000)=12,000. With SIV=$0.25 andLMV=5000, the price movement of the particular stock will be(12,000/5,000)*0.25=$0.50. Thus, the market price of the particularstock will be $0.50 greater than the last trading price.

One can easily see that, with such a pricing scheme, there is thepotential for great volatility in the price of a derivative financialinstrument and the eventual loss of investor confidence in the marketmechanism. In the exchange, it may be possible for one or moreindividuals to pursue trading strategies that would purposely causedrastic price fluctuations.

In order to encourage growth and stability in the capital marketregulated by the trading system of the present invention, a virtualspecialist program is executed by the server computer, as represented byblock 404 in FIG. 4. In executing the virtual specialist program, theserver computer 14 regulates the trading by actively trading in themarket out of a virtual specialist portfolio (VSP). In the firstpreferred embodiment, the virtual specialist program portfolio initiallycontains half of all the issued shares of each derivative financialinstrument.

Virtual Specialist Program

With reference to FIG. 5 a flow diagram illustrating the logic of thevirtual specialist program of the present invention is shown. Block 500is a decision block that represents the server computer 14 determiningwhether or not the price movement during the sweep pricing cycle isgreater or equal to an adjusted price movement threshold (APT). The APTis a constant in the memory of the server computer 14. If the APT isgreater than the price movement, then the server computer 14 does nottrade in the market. If the price movement is greater than or equal tothe APT, then the server computer 14 trades out of a virtual specialistprogram portfolio. The level of trading by the server computer 14 isdetermined by the amount that the price movement exceeded the APT. Thegreater the price movement, the more shares the server computer 14trades to offset the price movement.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the ATP=1.25 andthe server computer 14 performs the following steps: if PM=APT then theserver computer 14 matches 20% of unmatched shares; if PM=APT+0.25 thenthe server computer 14 matches 20% of unmatched shares; if PM=APT +0.50then the server computer 14 matches 30% of unmatched shares; ifPM=APT+0.75 then the server computer 14 matches 40% of unmatched shares;if PM=APT+1.0 then the server computer 14 matches 50% of unmatchedshares; if PM=APT+1.25 then the server computer 14 matches 60% ofunmatched shares; if PM=APT+1.50 then 60 the server computer 14 matches70% of unmatched shares; if PM=APT+1.75 then the server computer 14matches 80% of unmatched shares.

Block 502 represents the server computer 14 generating a buy or a sellorder to offset the price movement. The buy or sell order generated bythe server computer 14 is placed in the queue with the trader buy andsell orders to be processed during the next sweep cycle.

In the first preferred embodiment, since the virtual specialist programportfolio initially includes half of all the securities traded, theserver computer 14 could eventually deplete the virtual specialistprogram portfolio or cause the virtual specialist program portfolio toown all the shares of a stock. In order-to maintain a balanced virtualspecialist program portfolio, and provide some-liquidity-to the market,the server computer 14 generates additional buy and sell orders tooffset orders generated in response to the price movement exceeding theAPT. Block 504 represents the server computer 14 generating timed buyand sell orders. In one embodiment of the invention, the server computer14 assess each stock and each bond in the virtual specialist programportfolio. The server computer 14 determines the deficit or surplus inthe item, and then place 1/288th of the deficit as a “timed recoveryorder” into each successive 15 minute segment for the next 3 days. Whenthe pricing/trading program 255 matches buy and sell orders asrepresented by block 320, the pricing/trading program 255 includes any“timed recovery orders” outstanding for the last 3 days in the sweep.These orders are matched with the traders' buy and sell orders. Block506 represents the end of the virtual specialist program.

Stop Trading Program

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic of the stop tradingprogram of the present invention. Block 600 represents the servercomputer 14 determining the price movement of a stock caused by theimbalance in buy and sell orders. Block 602 represents the servercomputer 14 measuring the price movement on the day, not just during thesweep cycle period. Block 604 is a decision block that represents theserver computer 14 determining whether the net price movement (NPM)within one “trading day” (i.e., midnight-midnight) is greater than 50%up or down. As represented by block 606, the buy and sell orders areremoved from the queue if the net price movement is greater than 50% fora stock trading above $20. At that point, the trading in that issue isstopped within the 15 minute period until further notice. All orders(buy and sell) for that stock during this sweep are unfilled. Thetrading has stopped due to “excessive order imbalance”.

For example, assume that the Last Trading Price (LTP) for a particularderivative based on a particular movie is $67 (+7.5 on-the-day). Duringone 15-minute sweep pricing cycle, the server computer 24 receives buyorders for 655,000 shares of the particular derivative. Also, the servercomputer 14 receives sell orders for 35,000 shares of particularderivative. The server computer 14 evaluates the price movement for thesweep pricing cycle, and tests it to see if the net projected pricemovement “on-the-day” is greater than 50%. If it would be greater than50%, it stops trading in that instrument only. In this example, there isa net order-imbalance of 620,000 shares, which would create an upmovement in price of (+620,000/5000) * $0.25=+$31.00. Since the totalmovement on the day would be the $7.50 so far plus the additional$31.00, the net projected price movement on the day would be$31.00+$7.50=$38.50. If the opening price that day was $59.50, thepercentage projected price movement for the day is $38.50/$59.50=64%.Since the projected net price movement would be greater than 50%, thetrading is stopped for that instrument. If the projected price movementwas less than 50%, the price of the instrument would be adjustedaccordingly and trade in that stock continued. Block 608 represents theSTOP TRADE order that issues regarding the particular stock. Traders whoissued a buy or sell order for the stock are notified that the order hasnot been filled due to excessive order imbalance during the trading day.Finally, block 610 represents the end of the stop trading program.

II. General Logic of a Second Embodiment of the Trading System

As with the first embodiment described above, a second embodiment of thesystem of the present invention includes a database of securitiesprovided for trading in an open, computerized, exchange. In someembodiments, securities are listed which relate to movies, actors,products, and/or service companies. In other embodiments, securities arelisted which relate to contestants in contests such as, for example,tournaments, game shows, reality-based television shows, award shows,sporting events, and/or any suitable competition. Thus, the followingdescription of the second embodiment focuses on the differences infunctionality from the first embodiment, and may omit features which arenevertheless included in the second embodiment, but do not requirefurther description.

System Component Overview

With reference to FIG. 7, included within the system are a plurality oftables, including a global constant table 2022, price history table,2020, net price movement table, 2008, security price table 2006,security constant table 2002, trade history tracking table 2010, netprice movement balance table, 2012, ghost trading table 2014,administration table, 2016, and a user database table 2026, which areused as explained below. Exchanges based on derivatives such as moviesmay further comprise a development stage table 2024. Interfacing withthese tables are the virtual specialist program, 2028, which passeseconomic and price control data between all of the tables, a reservebank program, 2030, which passes economic control data between all ofthe tables, and the user interface, 700, which passes trade andportfolio information between itself and the user database as explainedbelow. Also interfacing with all tables is a marketing tool, 2040, asdescribed below.

Administration Module

With reference to FIG. 18, the system includes an administration modulewhich is used, as explained below, to adjust constants and variables inthe system. The administration module is password protected andimplemented with browser interface 700, also described below.

User Registration and Login

With reference to FIG. 1, users may access the system over a network,using a standard interface. An exemplary system comprises a Web client12 connected to a network such as the Internet 10, which is connected toSQL compliant back-end database servers 14.

With reference to FIG. 8A, a standardized Web browser interface 700 maybe used by the user to register with the on-line trading system overInternet 10, providing demo-graphic information, such as first name,last name, age, sex, location, occupation, income, hobby interest, andthe like. Once registered, the user is given the option of choosing aunique useriD which will be used for logging in after registration. Inproviding the demographic information, the user also provides an e-mailaddress to which a randomly assigned password and other instructionalinformation can be forwarded.

With reference to FIG. 8B, once the user is registered, the first timeuser's default portfolio may be accessed using a temporary password freelogin by selecting the View Port-folio button 802 in the upper left handcorner of a Welcome Web page 804.

With reference to FIG. 9, after the user has received their permanentpassword, the system can be accessed over Internet 10 (FIG. 1) usingInternet browser 700 by selecting a start button 902 present on a Webhome page 804 for the system.

With reference to FIG. 10, the user is presented with their portfolio onWeb page 700. Automatically, the new user is provided with a fixedquantity of virtual currency 1002 in virtual dollars (V$) from a reservebank program, described below, to begin trading with. This quantity caneither be considered a loan from the reserve bank program, for whichinterest is charged, or a gift.

After logging in, the user's portfolio summary 1004 is displayed at thetop of the page, which displays the user's current cash balance 1002,amount held in stocks 1006, bonds 1008, and other types of securities.When a new user logs in, the cash value of the user's portfolio isusually represented solely in cash 1002, or in a money market account.However, sometimes the system may award new users a free securityholding up front, for example comprising bond securities 1008. The cashin the user's portfolio accrues at an interest rate set by a virtualreserve hank program.

Trade Orders

The user may trade security instruments by typing in the symbol 1012 forthe instrument for which a purchase is desired in a buy-sell area ofpage 1010. A quantity 1014 is also specified in buy sell area 1010. Ifthe user does not know the symbol for a particular instrument, a lookupor search function is provided in a symbol search area 1016 of thescreen using standard graphical user interface (GUI) features such asdrop-down list boxes, text search boxes, or slider bar lists.Alternatively, a ticker tape style updating menu 1018 at the bottom ofthe screen displays available instruments with the correspondinginstrument prices.

Once the user has successfully entered the symbol 1010 for an availableinstrument, and a quantity 1014, a buy button 1020 may be pressed inbuy-sell area 1010. With reference to FIG. 11, if the user has enoughcash on account, and if the instrument is available for trading, then aconfirmation screen 1102 appears before execution of the trans-action.Upon confirmation, the trade is executed, and the cash is debited fromthe user's cash account 1002 (FIG. 10).

With reference to FIG. 10, if the user wishes to sell a securityinstrument, the same procedure is followed for placing a buy orderdescribed above, except, a sell button 1022 is clicked on in buy-sellarea 1010 of the portfolio page 1004. After confirmation, the marketprice for the shares sold is added to the user's cash account 1008, andthe shares are made available in the system for fulfilling purchaseorders.

Virtual Specialist Program

The system includes a virtual specialist program which, among otherthings, handles fulfillment of buy and sell orders. In the secondembodiment of the present system, the virtual specialist programcontrols the economy, and provides it with liquidity. The virtualspecialist program provides instantaneous liquidity by fulfilling allorders, whether or not there are equal and matching sell orders tooffset buy orders, and vice versa.

With reference to FIG. 12a a flow chart is shown illustrating thecalculations performed by the virtual specialist program for determiningan initial security price. The virtual specialist program calculates theinitial price in a public offering for a new security to be listed onthe exchange based on administrator entered values. A systemadministrator, through a password protected administration module, isable to set up a new security for listing on the exchange. The exchangemay set and manage the price of a derivative based in part on the natureof the underlying entity (e.g., movie, actor, contestant, and so forth).For example, the exchange may set and manage the price of a derivativebased on a movie differently than the exchange sets and manages theprice of a contestant in a reality-based television show.

Derivatives Based on Movies, Talent, Products, and/or Service Companies

In the case of films listed in the exchange described above, one way todetermine price is by stage of production of the movie. Each movie hasan associated estimated gross box office performance. An administratoris allowed to enter the estimated gross box office performance (EGBO)for the security, step 1202, in the administration screen. Theadministrator enters a quantity for the number initial of shares (NIS)issued for the security, step 1204. The number of shares issued is ahypothetical number since the virtual specialist program of the secondembodiment does not actually keep any shares in reserve. The user alsoenters a code for the stage of production for the movie (describedbelow), step 1205. The virtual specialist program takes the EGBO, anddivides it by the NIS to determine a raw initial share price (RIS), step1206.

The initial share price (ISP) is then adjusted by a stage of productionfactor. The following is a description of the different stages ofproduction for a movie, with the code format entered by theadministrator:

-   -   C=Concept: During a movie's concept stage, there is not active        production yet. Rumors are heard about a ‘new’ project; maybe a        sequel to an existing movie or a book adaptation.    -   D=Development: During a movie's development stage, the project        has attracted interest, and funds are spent on developing the        idea further. The final script premise is being perfected.

Pre-conceptual design work is taking place. More crew and actors arededicating themselves to the project in this stage.

-   -   P=Production: The project has moved to active production. All of        the crew and stars have been selected, and principal photography        is scheduled or commenced. The release date starts to become        fixed.    -   W=Wrap: The movie has been completed in its entirety, and is        awaiting release. The release date may have been pushed back a        short time, maybe a number of weeks or months, to an unscheduled        future date, awaiting a more favorable window of opportunity for        commercial success.    -   R=Release: The movie is playing in theaters.

When a movie is in the concept stage, it is much more difficult todetermine the likelihood of success for the movie than when the movie isin the production, wrap, or release stage. The production cycle relatesto a continuum of so success, begging with the concept stage, where itis more difficult to judge potential success, and ending with therelease stage, where actual box office receipts can be observed to moreaccurately determine the potential success of a movie. Thus, whendetermining the initial success of a movie, the RIS should be reducedaccordingly.

Starting with step 1208 (FIG. 12a ), the virtual specialist programchecks to see if the movie is in the concept stage. If so, then theprice of the security is multiplied by an administratively set conceptfactor for movies in the concept stage, step 1210.

The virtual specialist program checks to see if the movie is in thedevelopment stage, step 1212. If so, then the price of the security ismultiplied by an administratively set development factor for movies inthe development stage, step 1214.

The virtual specialist program checks to see if the movie is in theproduction stage, step 1216. If so, then the price of the security ismultiplied by an administratively set production factor for movies inthe production stage, step 1218.

The virtual specialist program checks to see if the movie is in therelease stage, step 1224. If so, then the price of the security set tothe raw unchanged RIS, step 1226.

It should be recognized by one skilled in the art that the abovedescribed factors are not the only factors which could be used inadjusting the RIS. For example, the RIS could be adjusted by suchfactors as an industry box office index of the movie's cast, an industrypopularity index for the cast, an estimated budget, actual budget, orthe release season for the movie. Further, it should be recognized thatdifferent factors will be used for product, actor, or service companysecurities to determine initial price.

The calculated initial price for a movie is not statically tied to theabove formula. Regardless of the estimated price determined by the abovefactors, in the system of the second embodiment, the price is furtheradjusted after release of the movie. On the morning following a movie'srelease date, trading for the movie stock is halted. Trading is allowedto continue at the end of its opening weekend at an adjusted price thatis based on the following formula:

(opening weekend box office gross/1 MM)*(a historic multiplier for totaldomestic gross) By historic observation, the ideal historic multipliervalue for the second embodiment of the present invention has been foundto be 3.6.

The initial price for a bond in the market is determined in a similarway as with stocks. In the case of movie stars listed in the exchangedescribed above, one way to determine price is by historical performanceof movies the star has starred in.

In the exchange, individual actors are available for investors in theform of star bonds. Star bonds pay interest depending on a star'srating. Ratings are determined by a star's 36 month trailing averagegross (TAG). TAG is the trailing average box-office gross of the moviesa star has been in during the preceding 3 years. TAG values and ratingscorrespond to one of 11 classes: AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C, U,and D. Each one of the 11 star bond ratings classes corresponds to avirtual dollar interest rate or coupon rate (see chart below). Therating and coupon for an individual actor in the second embodiment ofthe system of the present invention is determined according their TAGvalue as follows:

AAA average gross: more than $100 million Coupon: V$60 AA average gross:$75-99.9 million Coupon: V$80 A average gross: $50-74.9 million Coupon:V$100 BBB average gross: $40-49.9 million Coupon: V$140 BB averagegross: $30-39.9 million Coupon: V$160 B average gross: $20-29.9 millionCoupon: V$180 CCC average gross: $15-19.9 million Coupon: V$220 CCaverage gross: $10-14.9 million Coupon: V$240 C average gross: $5-9.9million Coupon: V$260 U (unrated) average gross: less than $5 millionCoupon: V$300 D (default) average gross: none Coupon: V$0Investors in star bonds receive a 6th of the coupon interest per bond,each day. The % annual rate of return, or current yield is calculated bydividing the V$ coupon rate by the current price. Low rated star bondsdenote high risk. The daily V$ payment of low rated star bonds is highto compensate traders for taking the risk of owning a low rated starbond. A high rating, such as AAA, denotes just the opposite.

The system is programmed under the principle that some traders buy starbonds whose rating is low in anticipation of the star's appearance in anupcoming blockbuster, raising the TAG (Trailing Average Gross), ratingand price. Conversely, traders sell star bonds whose rating is high inanticipation of the star's appearance in an upcoming flop, lowering theTAG, rating and price.

A star bond with a U rating means that the bond is un-rated and a ratingof D means that the bonds is in default.

Throughout the year, the system administrator updates TAG values, andthus, class ratings, as box office results are reported. Each Thursday,as new box office data is reported, the virtual specialist programsweeps the star bond market, looking for bond ratings which need tobe-updated. Because a star bond's value is based on the cumulativeperformance of a movie, the virtual specialist program uses a 1.24multiplier of the gross to date to estimate the movie's total grossafter four weekends.

Alternatively, the price for bonds may be determined in a number ofways. One way a bond price may be determined is by assigning a boxoffice index to the bond, which is based on the bond rating, andmultiplying the index by a constant to obtain the price. Using thismethod, the bond rating can be adjusted by other factors, such as thenumber of films the bond's associated star has appeared in, the lengthof the star's career, the relative billing the star receives for theindividual films that the star has appeared in, and the public'smorality perception of the star. All of these factors areadministratively set by the system administrator, and are thenmultiplied together with the box office index to obtain an adjusted boxoffice index. The bond rating is then determined using the adjusted boxoffice index.

Another way of determining an initial bond price is to determine theinitial value in the same way the other security prices are determinedas described above;

namely by using a number of market factors, while determining futureprices for bonds in the same way that other security prices are adjustedby the virtual specialist program as described below instead of usingtradition fixed bond par values.

With respect to non-bond securities in the second embodiment of thesystem of the present invention, the virtual specialist program stores amiming net movement balance (NMB) representing the quantity ofsecurities for orders that the virtual specialist program fulfills whichdo not have any offsetting orders. The imbalance is stored as a positivenumber if the buy-sell imbalance represents more buy trade ordersexecuted than sell orders, or a negative number if the buy-sellimbalance represents more sell orders executed than buy orders.

Derivatives Based on Contests

In some embodiments, the exchange may facilitate trading of derivativefinancial instruments representing contestants in contests. A contestmay comprise a tournament, playoffs, game show, reality-based televisionseries, awards show, sporting event, any/or any suitable competition. Ingeneral, the exchange may set initial prices for derivative financialinstruments; determine a number of derivatives to sell; adjust andmaintain prices associated with derivatives during the course of acontest; and manage the trading of derivatives among traders.

At the start of a contest, the exchange and/or an exchange administratormay identify the contestants in the contest. The contestants may beindividuals, teams, athletes, groups, and/or any suitable entity. For aparticular contestant, the exchange may determine an initial price forthe derivative representing that contestant. The initial price of aparticular derivative may be determined based on any suitable objectiveand/or subjective criteria. In particular, the initial price of aparticular derivative may be based at least in part on a ranking,record, achievement, statistic, and/or team associated with thecontestant represented by that derivative. Additionally, oralternatively, the initial price of a particular derivative may be basedat least in part on the health, injuries, history, size, weight, and/orany suitable number and combination of characteristics associated withthe contestant represented by that derivative. As an example, if thecontest is a basketball tournament, the initial price of a derivativerepresenting a particular team in the tournament may be based at leastin part on the ranking and/or win-loss record of the particular team. Insome embodiments, the initial price may be based at least in part onachievements, skills, or accomplishments of a particular contestant. Forexample, if the contest is an awards event such as the “Oscars,” thenthe derivative for an awards nominee may be based on whether the nomineepreviously won an award. In some embodiments, the initial price of thederivative representing each contestant may be the same.

In some embodiments, the exchange may automatically determine theinitial price of a particular derivative. In other embodiments, one ormore individuals (such as, for example, a panel of experts) may use anysuitable objective and/or subjective criteria to determine the initialprice of a particular derivative.

In addition to determining an initial price of the derivativerepresenting each contestant, the exchange may determine the number ofshares to offer for each contestant in the contest. The exchange maydetermine the number of shares to offer based at least in part on anestimate of how many traders will participate in the exchange. In someembodiments, the number of shares issued may be a hypothetical numbersince the virtual specialist program of some embodiments may notactually keep any shares in reserve.

The exchange may be configured to define a group of traders that mayparticipate in trading via the exchange. The group of traders may bedefined by any suitable number and combination of characteristics. Forexample, the defined group may represent subscribers of a particularinterne service, members of a particular organization, customers of aparticular company, and/or any suitable group. In some embodiments, theexchange may require an individual to have a configurable passcode inorder to participate in trading via the exchange. The passcode mayrepresent a password, access key, and/or any suitable means forverifying whether an individual may participate in the exchange. In someembodiments, an individual may “win” a passcode by purchasing a product.For example, a passcode may be printed on the underside of bottle capsof certain bottles of a particular beverage. Thus, the exchange mayprovide incentives for individuals to purchase a particular product tohave an opportunity to participate in the exchange. In the foregoingexample, by purchasing more bottles of the particular beverage, anindividual may increase his or her chances of obtaining a bottle caphaving a passcode to participate in the exchange. In other embodiments,the passcode may be printed inside a candy wrapper, inside a box ofcereal, and/or on a scratch-off card associated with a product. Althoughthe foregoing examples illustrate a passcode associated with a product,the passcode may be associated with a service such as, for example, acellular phone service, a music download service, an internet service,and/or any suitable service. In such embodiments, the passcode may besent to selected individuals electronically, via email, in print, and/orvia any suitable media.

In some embodiments, the exchange may allow anyone to participate as atrader in the exchange. The exchange may allow traders to form leaguesor groups. For example, a group of friends, colleagues, and/orassociates may form a league to compete against one another as traders.By forming leagues, traders may be able to compete against other tradersin their league to determine, for example, which trader can build themost valuable portfolio, which trader can obtain the most sharesassociated with the winning contestant in the competition underlying theexchange, and/or which trader can achieve any suitable number andcombination of goals.

After determining the initial prices of the derivatives, the exchangemay offer the derivatives for sale to traders. In some embodiments,traders may register to participate in the exchange before the beginningof the contest underlying the exchange. Upon registering with theexchange, a trader may receive a configurable amount of virtualcurrency. The exchange may display to the trader the derivatives thatare currently available for trade. Based as least in part on thedisplayed information, the trader may submit one or more buy orders topurchase one or more derivatives. Upon receiving the one or more buyorders, the exchange may transfer the requested number of shares to thetrader. The exchange may automatically debit an account associated withthe trader according to the price of the purchased shares.

Once traders begin to trade derivatives, the prices of the derivativesmay fluctuate based on supply and demand of the various derivatives. Insome embodiments, during the course of the contest, the virtualspecialist program is operable to occasionally adjust the pricesassociated with the derivatives. For example, if the contest is a sportstournament, the exchange may adjust the prices associated with thederivates after one or more rounds of the tournament. The priceadjustment for a particular derivative may be based at least in part onthe performance of the contestant associated with that derivative. Forexample, for a sports tournament, the exchange may increase the price ofa derivative representing a team that won in the first round of thetournament. A derivative of a team that won by a large margin mayexperience a greater price increase than that of a team that won by asmall margin. Thus, the exchange may determine a price adjustment for aparticular derivative based on the performance of the contestantrepresented by that derivative.

In some embodiments, if a contestant loses and/or is eliminated from thecontest, the price of the derivative corresponding to that contestantmay drop to zero. In other embodiments, when a contestant is eliminatedfrom the contest, the exchange may reduce the price of the correspondingderivative. The amount or percentage by which the exchange reduces theprice of the derivative may depend at least in part on the stage of thecontest. For example, for a contestant that is eliminated after thefirst episode of a reality-based television series, the price of thecorresponding derivative may be reduced by a higher percentage than ifthe contestant were eliminated in a later episode of the reality-basedseries. In other embodiments, the exchange may reduce a derivative by alower percentage if the contestant is eliminated in an earlier episodeof a reality-based series than if the contestant is eliminated in alater episode. In some embodiments, the exchange may adjust thederivative prices after each episode, stage, and/or round of thecontest.

The exchange may be configured to provide incentives for a trader toincrease the value of the trader's portfolio of derivatives. In someembodiments, at the end of the contest underlying the exchange, theexchange may compare the portfolios of multiple traders. The exchangemay award a prize to the trader with the most valuable portfolio. Inother embodiments, at the end of the contest, the exchange may awardprizes to each trader having more than a configurable number of sharesassociated with the winning contestant. In yet other embodiments, theexchange may award dividends to traders having derivatives associatedwith contestants that advance beyond a particular stage of the contest.The dividends may represent virtual currency, shares of derivatives,and/or any other suitable reward.

The exchange may be operable to regulate trading activity. Inparticular, the exchange may be operable to halt trading duringparticular portions of a contest. For example, if the contest is areality-based television series, the exchange may suspend trading duringthe airing of each episode of the television series.

The exchange may store a running net movement balance (NMB) representingthe quantity of securities for orders that the virtual specialistprogram fulfills which do not have any offsetting orders. The imbalanceis stored as a positive number if the buy-sell imbalance represents morebuy trade orders executed than sell orders, or a negative number if thebuy-sell imbalance represents more sell orders executed than buy orders.

The foregoing examples illustrate derivatives that are based onathletes, teams, contestants, and/or participants in reality-basedtelevision series. In some embodiments, the derivatives may be based onpoliticians, directors, public figures, celebrities, and/or models. Insome embodiments, the contest associated with the exchange may representa political event, a poll, an election, a survey, and/or any suitableevent. For example, the contest associated with the exchange may be apolitical election and the derivatives may represent candidates in theelection. As another example, the contest may represent a survey or poll(such as, for example, a magazine's ranking of the “50 Most BeautifulPeople”) and the derivatives may represent celebrities or otherindividuals who may be considered in the survey or poll. Thus, theexchange may be associated with any number and combination of contestsas well as any number and combination of contestants.

In some embodiments, the exchange may regulate the contents of aparticular trader's portfolio. For example, a trader may not be allowedto own more than a configurable percentage of the total shares of aparticular derivative. As another example, a trader may not have morethan a configurable percentage of his or her shares associated with asingle derivative. It will be understood that the exchange may imposeany suitable number and combination of regulations on tradersparticipating in the exchange.

In some embodiments, the exchange may determine a maximum and/or aminimum “cash-out” or redemption value for each derivative. A maximumredemption value for a particular derivative may be the maximum valuefor which a trader may buy, sell, and/or redeem a share of thatderivative. Similarly, a minimum redemption value for a particularderivative may be the minimum value for which a trader may buy, sell,and/or redeem a share of that derivative. The exchange may adjust themaximum and/or minimum redemption value of a particular derivate aftereach stage of the contest. For example, if the contest represents thebaseball playoffs, the maximum redemption value during the first roundof the playoffs may be $50. At the start of the second round of theplayoffs, the exchange may, for the remaining teams, increase themaximum redemption value for a share of a derivative to $100. Theexchange may determine the maximum and/or minimum redemption value for aparticular derivative based on any suitable criteria. For example, themaximum and/or minimum redemption value may be based on the number ofcontestants, the stage of the contest, the number of traders, and/or anyother suitable factor. Although the foregoing example illustrates acontest representing baseball playoffs, it should be understood that theexchange may be associated with any number and combination of contests.In the foregoing example, the exchange doubled the maximum redemptionvalue for derivatives representing contestants that advanced in thecontest. It should be understood, however, that the exchange may adjustthe maximum and/or minimum redemption values for derivatives in anysuitable manner.

FIG. 12b illustrates a flowchart for managing an exchange of derivativesbased on a particular contest according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. At step 1252, the exchange identifies the contestants in aparticular contest. At step 1254, for each identified contestant, theexchange determines an initial price for the derivative financialinstrument representing the identified contestant. The determination ofthe initial price may be based at least in part on achievements,records, rankings, skills, and/or accomplishments associated with theparticular contestant. At step 1256, the exchange determines how manyshares of each derivative to offer for sale to traders. The number ofshares offered for sale may be based at least in part on an estimate ofthe anticipated number of traders that will participate in the exchange.

At step 1258, the exchange displays to traders the derivatives and theassociated prices. The exchange may display the names, backgroundinformation, and/or characteristics of the contestants in the contest.At step 1260, the exchange receives from a trader at least one tradingorder for a particular derivative. The trading order may specify anumber of shares of the derivative as well as a bid or offer price. Atstep 1262, the exchange executes the received trading order. At step1264, the exchange determines whether a configurable stage of thecontest has been completed. In some embodiments, a configurable stagemay represent a round of a tournament, an episode of a reality-basedtelevision series, or any other suitable portion of a contest.

If at step 1264 the exchange determines that the configurable stage ofthe contest has not yet been completed, the process returns to step1260. However, if at step 1264 the exchange determines that theconfigurable stage of the contest has been completed, then at step 1266the exchange adjusts the prices of derivatives associated with thecontest. The price adjustment for a particular derivative may be basedat least in part on the performance of the corresponding contestantduring a stage of the contest.

At step 1268, the exchange determines whether the contest has concluded.If at step 1268 the exchange determines that the contest has notconcluded, then the process returns to step 1260. However, if at step1268 the exchange determines that the contest has concluded, then atstep 1270 the exchange determines the particular trader that has themost valuable portfolio. At step 1272, the exchange may award a prize tothe particular trader with the most valuable portfolio. In someembodiments, the exchange may award multiple prizes to multiple tradersbased on the value and/or assets of the portfolios of the traders.

Determining Price Movement of a Security

With reference to FIG. 13, a flowchart illustrating the calculations fordetermining price movement of a security is shown. Unlike tradingnon-virtual markets, the virtual specialist program of the secondembodiment does not control the economy by setting prices of sharesbased on last executed buy order price. Rather, the virtual specialistprogram determines the price of an instrument after each trade bycomputing an outstanding buy-sell imbalance. The system scans or sweepsa trade queue containing the data for buy and sell orders placed byusers for price adjustment, step 1202.

The buy-sell imbalance for the security, also referred to herein as thenet movement balance (NMB) is read from a net movement balance databasewhere net movement balances for all securities are tracked, step 1304.The virtual specialist program controls security prices by incrementingor decrementing security prices based on the NMB using a combination ofa security price increment (SPI) constant, and a pair of security pricethreshold constants. Both a positive security price threshold (PSPT)constant, and a negative security price threshold (NSPT) constant is setin a security constant table 2002 for each security in the system by thesystem administrator.

When a user executes a trade, a record is added to the trade queue. As afield in the trade record, a net trade movement (NTM) variable for atrade order is set to the positive quantity of shares if the trade orderis a buy order, and to the negative quantity of shares if the tradeorder is a sell order, step 1306. A new NMB is calculated by adding thepre-trade NMB, as retrieved from a net price movement table 2008 (NMB(old)), to the NTM, step 1308.

The NSPT and PSPT constants for the securities are retrieved thesecurity constant table 2002, step 1310. A security price increment(SPI) constant for the security which is the subject of the trade orderis retrieved from the security constant table 2002, 1312. The NMB isthen compared to the PSPT, step 1314. If the NMB is greater than thePSPT, then the price for the security (SP) is calculated by adding theSPI to the SP before the trade which was retrieved from a security pricetable 2002, step 1316. The NMB is then reduced by the PSPT and storedback to the net price movement table 2008, step 1318.

Conversely, if the NMB is less than the NSPT (a negative value), step1320, then the SP (new) is calculated by subtracting the SPI from the SP(old), step 1322. The NMB is then incremented by the NMB (which is alsonegative in this case), step 1324.

After the above calculations are made, the SP is stored in a securityprice table 2006, step 1326, which keeps track of all security prices.If the price of the security changed, a price history tracking table2020 is updated, performing a write SQL statement which adds a recordcomprising the SP, NMB, UserlD, and other information relating to thetrade, step 1328. The NMB is updated in the net movement balance table2008 for the security that was the subject of the trade order, step1330. Each record of the net movement balance database further containsan increment tracking field for keeping track of the number ofconsecutive increments for the security instrument, up or down. Asidefrom the virtual specialist program, the stored information is used by amarketing tool, explained below, which provides statistical informationto market researchers.

The last steps for processing a trade record are to call the securitybrake check routine, step 1332, and the security halt check routine,step 1334, both explained in detail below.

Periodically, due to natural popularity of a particular security, or bymarket manipulation by an individual or groups of traders, a securitymay realize wild fluctuations in price. This is especially true in amarket in which virtual currency is used in a virtual market. Given thespecial circumstances of the virtual market, the system provides anartificial price control, or braking, mechanism.

The braking mechanism of the present invention monitors each priceincrement the virtual specialist program per-forms. When a price movesup or down on a security instrument, the increment tracking field of thenet movement balance table 2008 is retrieved for the security, step1402. A security brake threshold (SBT) constant, and a security brakeincrement (SBI) constant is retrieved from the security constant table2002, steps 1404-1406. If the total consecutive number of priceincrements (TCPI) is greater than the SBT, step 1408, then the PSPT isincreased by the security brake increment, and then stored back to thesecurity constant table 2002, step 1410. If the total consecutive numberof price decrements is greater than the SBT, step 1412, the NSPT isdecreased by the security brake increment, and then stored back to thesecurity constant table 2002, 1414. In this way, for securities whichhave experienced price movement greater than the set thresholds, theprice movement will be slowed.

Still, the braking mechanism may not be effective enough in either anextreme bear or bull market for the security, or the market as a whole.In those instances, a halting mechanism is provided by the system. Withreference to FIG. 15, a flowchart illustrating a process for preemptingtrading for certain securities with out of control price movements isshown.

The halting mechanism acts much in the same way as the brakingmechanism. The TCPI or TCPD is retrieved for the security which was thesubject of the trade order above from the price tracking history table2020, step 1502. The exception is that a security halt threshold (SHT)constant is compared to the value from TCPI/TCPD field, step 1504. Ifthe TCPI/TCPD field value exceeds the SHT, steps 1506 or 1508, thentrading is halted for that particular security, step 20 1510. A noticeappears on screen for a trader who tries to trade the security informingthe user that trading has been halted by the system. Trading for thesecurity may be resumed after an administratively set period of time, ormanually through an administration module.

With reference to FIG. 16, a ghost trading system process isillustrated. The ghost trading system of the second embodiment is usedas both a tool to bolster the trading level of some securities whichwould otherwise have low trading levels and, more importantly, as ameans for the system administrator to take control of the economy afterchanging thresholds, constants and global variables. The ghost tradingsystem is used to speed up the actions of the economy by creating volumethat, when processed with new variables changes the direction of themarket quickly.

For each of certain selected securities, a ghost trading mechanismrandomly creates automatic or ghost trades. A ghost trading table 2014is provided with a timer, which reads the system clock and determinesdaily time intervals, is included. The system periodically queries theghost trading table 2014, step 1602. Each security instrument record in40 the ghost trading table 2014 is set to cause a trade for anadministrative set number of times per trading day. If the timer detectsthat the time interval between trades for a security has ended, step1604, the ghost trading mechanism retrieves a ghost buy probability(GBF) from the ghost trade table 2014, step 1606. A random tradeconstant (RTC) is generated by the system, 1608. Next, a ghost securitybuy/sell quantity (GBQ) is retrieved from the ghost trade table 2014,step 1610. If the GBT is greater than or equal to the RTC, step 1612, abuy order is placed by the system for the number of shares specified bythe GBQ, step 1614. Otherwise, a sell order is placed for the number ofshares specified by the GBQ, step 1616.

In the above discussion, the term trade or the term trade order alsoincludes stop limit orders and short sells. The only difference in thesetypes of trades is when the actual trade is posted. In the case of astop limit order placed by a user, for example, when the user specifiesthe condition in which the trade should take place, the stop limit orderis stored in a stop limit order queue. Each time a security changesprice, the stop limit queue is checked by the virtual specialist programto see if any stop limit conditions are met. If so, the normal tradequeue is updated with the stop limit order, and the virtual specialistprogram performs the trade as with a normal trade.

Virtual Reserve Bank Program

The system of the present invention includes a virtual reserve bankprogram. The reserve bank program regulates the economy with monetarytools which are provided within a reserve bank program module. Withthese tools, certain system global constants, such as total money supplyand interest rates can be adjusted.

In the case of interest rates, adjustable global constants are builtinto the an administration table 2016 for the virtual trading system. Byraising or lowering rates, the amount of interest paid on the virtualdollars not tied up in securities is adjusted for the users. In thisway, the unused money in users' accounts act as money market accountsfor which interest is adjusted accordingly.

In the second embodiment, a virtual reserve bank program chairman candetermine interest rates and security threshold constants by usingglobal interest threshold constants (GITCs), and acts as a monitor ofinflationary and deflationary pressures in the system. Inflationary anddeflationary pressure may be defined as the size of the system economy,i.e., number of shares of securities which obtain a certain definedprice. For example, the total outstanding shares may have a combined parvalue of V$8 billion, and the total market price for the sharesoutstanding may be V$80 billion with about V$5 billion average dailytrading volume. The virtual specialist program, for the majority ofsecurities in the system, may have PSPTs set to 10,000 and NSPTs set to−10,000. The money market rate may be set to 7% under these marketconditions by the reserve bank program. However, if prices on theexchange were to inflate to a value of V$200 billion, for example, thePSPT might be increased by 10,000 and the NSPTs decreased by 10,000, andthe money market interest rate reset to 15%.

As part of maintaining a sound economy, the system's virtual reservebank program and/or the virtual specialist program may monitor certaininflationary thresholds and trigger a drain of the system if thosethresholds are met. During a system drain, users are offered theopportunity to exchange virtual dollars into U.S. Dollars for exchangeof goods and/or services. The drain will have the effect of takingvirtual currency out of the system, thus helping to control inflation.Executing the drain comprises comparing the overall currency and/orsecurity holdings to a drain constant administratively set in the globalconstant table 2022. When the global constant has been reached orexceeded, users are offered the opportunity to purchase products, suchas software or mail order products, with their virtual dollars. For theusers who choose to do so, the cost of the products are debited fromtheir accounts and orders are added to a product fulfillment databasedesignating that the offered products need to be sent to the user.Similarly to the order tracking database, the orders are stored in adrain history database so that statistical information can be drawn inthe marketing research tool explained below.

Marketing Research Tool

With reference to FIG. 1, the second embodiment of a market researchtool is also implemented in the client server environment over Internet10. Computer 12 is used as a front end for a market research user whowishes to access the system of the present invention to view anddownload statistical research data which has been compiled and stored onservers 14 from the users' demographic data and trading history.

With reference to FIG. 17 the market research user accesses the marketresearch tool by logging into the system, step 1702. Each marketresearch user may establish an account, by either subscribing on-line orby telephone before using the system. The market research user isprompted for a user identification code and password for entry into thesystem.

Upon successful login into the system, the market research user ispresented with a list of securities in the system database, step 1704.The market research user may, by use of a mouse or arrow keys, highlightsecurities for which the user wishes to view or download statistics,step 1706. In order to choose more than one security, the marketresearch user may use a combination of the mouse, arrow keys and shiftkey. If the shift key is held down during selection, the priorselections made by the user are retained as highlighted selections incombination with the new selection. Selection criteria may also beselected to choose a certain class of securities, or securities whichmeet, for example, a minimal trading volume threshold over a specifiedperiod of time.

After selection of securities, the market research user is givenoptions, on screen, for categories of information which may be obtained,step 1708. Exemplary categories which may be obtained regarding asecurity or group of securities include: trade volume information, buyvs. sell volume information, timing of volume information, total volumeheld information, investment concentration information, priceinformation, stop limit order volume information, short sell volumeinformation, and aggregate index information.

More specifically, in choosing to obtain trade volume for particularsecurities, the market research user may assess public awareness of thesecurity. A very high trade volume over a period of time indicates ahigh degree of awareness for the security. Conversely, minimal volumeindicates very little awareness. A query is performed on a trade historytracking table 2010 maintained by the virtual specialist program whichcontains a mirror image of all trades fulfilled by the virtualspecialist program. A trade volume query answer table is created whichcontains, for each requested security, overall trade volume figures,yearly trade volume figures, monthly trade volume figures, and dailytrade figures.

With regard to buy vs. sell volume information, if the volume for asecurity is predominantly buy-side volume, or volume generated bytraders buying the security, it is generally due to a positiveawareness. A predominantly sell-side volume for a security indicatesthat traders believe the security to be overvalued. When the marketresearch user directs the system to obtain buy vs. sell volumeinformation, the market research tool performs a query on the tradehistory tracking table 2010 and the price history tracking table 2020described with respect to the virtual specialist program above. Thequery creates a temporary buy-sell volume answer table for allsecurities requested. The buy-sell volume answer table contains, foreach security, overall buy volume figures, overall sell volume figures,yearly buy volume figures, yearly sell volume figures, monthly buyvolume figures, monthly sell volume figures, daily buy volume figures,and daily sell volume figures.

With regard to timing of volume information, the trade volume for asecurity may be evaluated with respect to the entity underlying thesecurity. For particular securities based on films or actors, the tradevolumes of the particular securities may be evaluated with respect tothe stage of development that a project, for example a movie or actor'scareer, is in. A film that has just entered production, for example,hasn't been marketed by the studio to the public yet. High tradingvolume for the related movie stock may represent great public awarenessfor the movie or positive reaction by traders to the combination ofactors who star in the movie. Similarly, in the movie star bond market,a non A-list actor that has high trade volume has a relatively highawareness.

In other embodiments, for securities based on contestants in aparticular contest, the trade volumes of the particular securities maybe evaluated with respect to the perceived popularity of a particularcontestant. For example, high trade volumes for a derivative based on aparticular contestant in a reality-based television series may representa positive reaction by traders to the particular contestant.

When the market research user directs the system to obtain timing volumeinformation, the market research tool performs a query on the tradehistory tracking table 2010 and related development stage history table2024, which keeps track of start and completion times of stages ofdevelopment. The query creates a temporary timing volume answer tablefor all securities requested. The timing volume answer table contains,for each security, timing volume figures for each stage of production orproject.

With regard to the total volume held for a security, if traders buy aparticular security and generally hold on to it for a longer thanaverage period of time, it demonstrates a high degree of faith in thelong term performance of a security. For example, if traders tend toinvest and hold an actor's star bond, it is probably because they thinkshe has a long career ahead of her and will be popular for more thanjust one or two films. When the market research user directs the systemto obtain total volume held information, the market research toolperforms a query on the trade history tracking table 2010 whichcalculates the average number of shares held for each trader for therequested securities for each trader. The query creates a temporarytotal volume held answer table for all securities requested. The totalvolume held answer table contains, for each security, the time that eachtrader held each security they purchased, along with the volume held.

With regard to investment concentration, when there is heavy investmentvolume per shareholder in a particular security, it may demonstrate ahigh degree of faith in or loyalty to the entity underlying theparticular security. For example, if 50,000 traders each hold an averageof 100 shares corresponding to a particular sports team, and 10,000traders hold an average of 500 shares for a second sports team, thefirst sports team would tend to have more widespread appeal than thesecond sports team, but the second sports team would tend to have a moreloyal following. An analogous principle may be applied to derivativesbased on actors. For example, if 50,000 traders each hold an average of100 star bonds for a first actor, and 10,000 traders hold an average of500 star bonds for a second actor, the first actor would tend to havemore widespread appeal than the second actor, but the second actor wouldtend to have a more loyal following. In financial markets, this is knownas concentration. In down markets, holders of these securities areunwilling to sell; in up markets they are willing to add to theirpositions. When the market research user directs the system to obtaininvestment concentration information, the market research tool performsa query on the trade history tracking table 2010 to retrieve figures forthe average volume per share for all requested securities held at anytime by all traders. The query creates a temporary investmentconcentration answer table for all securities requested. The totalinvestment concentration answer table contains, for each security, theaverage volume that each trader held for each requested security.

With regard to price information, security prices are tied to perceivedchances of success of the entity to which the security is tied. Forexample, for derivatives based on movies or actors, security prices maybe tied to perceived sales performance for the movie or actor which thesecurity is tied to. Stock prices associated with movies may be tied toperceived box office performance. If a movie stock is priced at $30, anda trader thinks that the movie will gross more than $30 million at thebox office, the trader will most probably buy the movie stock. Thus, thesystem of the present invention has the ability to find out whatcontestants, teams, groups, entities, films, actors, phonorecordings, orproducts consumers perceive will be successful. When the market researchuser directs the system to obtain price information, the market researchtool performs a query on the price history tracking table 2020,described with respect to the virtual specialist program above, toretrieve price per share for all requested securities held by traders.The query creates a temporary price answer table for all securitiesrequested. The price answer table contains, for each security, the pricefor each requested security.

With regard to stop limit order information, the system of the presentinvention tracks traders who set the price a security must obtain beforea trade order is filled. Stop limit orders are not filled in the eventthat the market doesn't hit the specified price before the time that theorder expires. This functionality gauges traders' sensitivity to aprice. For example, if a trader will only buy a movie stock below $30,that may indicate that the trader only perceives a limited upside forthe security, and thus believes that the movie will not be an industryblockbuster. As another example, if a trader will only buy a stockassociated with a particular team if the stock price is below $30, thatmay indicate that the trader perceives a small chance for that team tosucceed in a tournament. When the market research user directs thesystem to obtain stop limit order information, the market research toolperforms a query on the trade history tracking table 2010 to retrieveprice per share and volume figures for all requested securities held atany time by all traders which were stop limit orders, whether the limitfor such orders were met or not. The query creates a stop limit orderanswer table for all securities requested. The stop limit order answertable contains, for each security, price per share and volume figuresfor every stop limit order requested by traders for the requestedsecurities.

With respect to short sell information, if a trader thinks that thevalue of a security is going to decline, the trader can short sell thesecurity. Analysis of short sell volume on a security can gauge if thereis negative sentiment towards the security. When the market researchuser directs the system to short sell information, the market researchtool performs a query on the trade history tracking table 2010 toretrieve short sell volume figures. The query creates a short sellanswer table for all securities requested. The short sell answer tablecontains, for each security requested, the short sale trades orders byall traders.

With regard to index performance information, by aggregating marketinformation into indices, insights can be drawn about the market as awhole. For example, a movie studio security index can be generated bycalculating the sum of a studio's ten highest priced movie stocks overtime. As another example, a college basketball conference index may begenerated by calculating the sum of the conference's ten highest pricedstocks over time. The performance of such an index may measure thepotential strength of a studio's distribution, the potential box officepotential of a studio's upcoming films, or the potential strength orpopularity of a particular conference. When the market research userdirects the system to obtain index performance information, the marketresearch tool performs a query on the price history tracking table 2020to retrieve price change figures for the securities in all requestedindices. The query creates a temporary index performance answer tablefor all securities requested. The index performance answer tablecontains, for each requested index, price change over time figures.

In step 1708 (FIG. 17), the market research user may choose any numberof the above categories of information for display or download for thesecurities selected in step 1706 by an on-screen selection or checklist.

After the categories of information have been chosen, the marketresearch user may then select an on-screen Ok button to execute theresearch. The system then compiles and executes a selection of SQL querycalls according to all selections made by the user, step 1710. The queryresults are compiled and prepared for display, step 1712.

Once the results are compiled, pre-programmed graph, trend line andtextual templates are used to display the query results on the GUIclient display for all chosen securities and information categoriesdescribed above, step 1714.

After display, the user is given the option, by selection button, todownload the displayed results and underlying 60 query data, step 1716.If selected, the market research user is allowed to select from avariety of download formats, such as ASCII, xbase, dbf, HTML, tif, gif,bmp, or the like, step 1718. The market research user is allowed tochoose a download location on the local client, step 1720. The systemthen proceeds to compile the data into the chosen format, step, 1722.The data is then transferred, using any one of a variety of protocolssuch as zmodem, xmodem, ftp, or any one of the OS industry standardprotocols, step 1724. In the Web client-server environment, a TCP/IPsocket is used.

After transfer, the market research user is prompted for whether anotherquery is desired, step 1726. If another query is desired, execution ispassed back to step 1704 for another research iteration. Otherwise, timeand/or transaction charges, which are tracked from login time at step1702, are compile and displayed on client 12, step 1728. The charges aresimultaneously stored in a billing database for the next billing cycle,step 1730. The user is then logged out of the system, step 1732.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, it shouldbe understood the various changes, substitutions, and alterations can bemade hereto without departing from the scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; andat least one memory that stores at least one of a first order and asecond order, and that stores instructions which, when executed by theat least one processor, direct the at least one processor to: receive,from a first trader of a group of traders, a first order to buy afinancial instrument that represents a contestant in a contestassociated with a television show, wherein the first trader isassociated with a first account of virtual electronic currency; receive,from a second trader of the group of traders, a second order to sell thefinancial instrument, wherein the second trader is associated with asecond account of virtual electronic currency; determine a price of thefinancial instrument based at least in part on the first order, thesecond order, and at least one of a result associated with a stage ofthe contest and a performance of the contestant in the contest; executea trade at the determined price; determine an updated price of thefinancial instrument if the contestant loses the contest, in which theact of determining the updated price comprises: reducing the price ofthe financial instrument to zero if the contestant loses the contest;and determine whether to temporarily halt trading of the financialinstrument during an episode of the television show.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, further direct the at least one processor to: determine aninitial price of the financial instrument based at least in part on acharacteristic of the contestant.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, whereinthe instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, furtherdirect the at least one processor to: adjust the price based at least inpart on a subsequent result associated with at least one subsequentstage of the contest.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein adjusting theprice comprises: adjusting the price after each stage of the contest. 6.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by theat least one processor, further direct the at least one processor to:compare a first portfolio of financial instruments associated with thefirst trader against a second portfolio of financial instrumentsassociated with the second trader; and determine a winning trader fromamong the group of traders based at least in part on the comparisonbetween the first and second portfolios.
 7. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the financial instrument comprises a stock, in which thetelevision show is a game show comprising the contest, in which a gameshow host of the game show interacts with multiple contestants of thegame show including the contestant during the contest, and in which thegame show host does not compete in the contest.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein reducing the price to zero if the contestant loses thecontest comprises: reducing the price to zero upon determining that thecontestant was eliminated from the contest, wherein the contestcomprises an awards event, and and wherein the contestant comprises atleast one nominee for an award at the awards event, wherein more thantwo contestants are nominated for the award prior to a start of theawards event.
 9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the stage of thecontest is one of a plurality of stages of the contest, the plurality ofstages of the contest respectively corresponding to a plurality ofepisodes of the television show.
 10. The apparatus of claim 2, whereinthe stage of the contest corresponds to an episode of the televisionshow.
 11. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the first trader isassociated with a first account of electronic currency; and the secondtrader is associated with a second account of electronic currency; andthe instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, furtherdirect the at least one processor to: debit the first account accordingto the trade; and credit the second account with proceeds of the trade.12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed bythe at least one processor, further direct the at least one processorto: determine a redemption value associated with the financialinstrument; and adjust the redemption value based at least in part on asubsequent result associated with at least one subsequent stage of thecontest, in which the contest comprises an awards event, and in whichthe contestant comprises at least one nominee for an award at the awardsevent, wherein more than two contestants are nominated for the awardprior to a start of the awards event.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the redemption value represents a maximum value for which atrading exchange will redeem a share of the financial instrument. 14.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by theat least one processor, further direct the at least one processor to:regulate a contents of a portfolio of financial instruments associatedwith the first trader such that a number of shares of the financialinstrument in the portfolio does not exceed a configurable percentage ofall of the shares of financial instruments in the portfolio.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the atleast one processor, further direct the at least one processor to:receive a passcode from the first trader; and verify, based at least inpart on the passcode, that the first trader is eligible to participatein trading the financial instrument, wherein the contest is not asporting competition.
 16. A method comprising: receiving, by at leastone processor of a computing device, from a first trader of a group oftraders, a first order to buy a financial instrument that represents acontestant in a contest associated with a television show, wherein thefirst trader is associated with a first account of virtual electroniccurrency; receiving, by the at least one processor, from a second traderof the group of traders, a second order to sell the financial instrumentwherein the second trader is associated with a second account of virtualelectronic currency; determining, by the at least one processor, a priceof the financial instrument based at least in part on the first order,the second order, and at least one of a result associated with a stageof the contest and a performance of the contestant in the contest;executing, by the at least one processor, a trade at the determinedprice; determining that the contestant lost the contest; determining anupdated price of the financial instrument if the contestant loses thecontest, in which the act of determining the updated price comprises:reducing the price of the financial instrument to zero responsive to thecontestant losing the contest; and determining whether to temporarilyhalting trading of the financial instrument during an episode of thetelevision show.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:determining an initial price of the financial instrument based at leastin part on a characteristic of the contestant.
 18. The method of claim16, further comprising: adjusting the price based at least in part on asubsequent result associated with at least one subsequent stage of thecontest.
 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: comparing afirst portfolio of financial instruments associated with the firsttrader against a second portfolio of financial instruments associatedwith second trader; and determining a winning trader from among thegroup of traders based at least in part on the comparison between thefirst and second portfolios.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein thefinancial instrument comprises a stock, in which the television show isa game show comprising the contest, in which a game show host of thegame show interacts with multiple contestants of the game show includingthe contestant during the contest, and in which the game show host doesnot compete in the contest.
 21. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium for storing instructions, the computer-readable medium being atangible medium, the instructions being executable by a processor to:receive, from a first trader of a group of traders, a first order to buya financial instrument that represents a contestant in a contestassociated with a television show wherein the first trader is associatedwith a first account of virtual electronic currency; receive, from asecond trader of a group of traders, a second order to sell thefinancial instrument, wherein the second trader is associated with asecond account of virtual electronic currency; determine a price of thefinancial instrument based at least in part of the first order, thesecond order, and at least one of a result associated with a stage ofthe contest and a performance of the contestant in the contest; executea trade at the determined price; determine an updated price of thefinancial instrument if the contestant loses the contest, in which theact of determining the updated price comprises: reducing the price ofthe financial instrument to zero responsive to the contestant losing thecontest; and determine whether to temporarily halt trading of thefinancial instrument during an episode of the television show.